


Leveraging your way in

by Keenir



Category: Godzilla: King of The Monsters (2019), Leverage, Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Implied Relationships, mostly offscreen relationship, subtle relationships, third crossover is background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21875056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keenir/pseuds/Keenir
Summary: The three-man team of Leverage are breaking into the Shatterdome to lend a hand.  Overt and covert are relative terms.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, Hermann Gottlieb/Liwen Shao
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16
Collections: 2019 Leverage Secret Santa Exchange





	Leveraging your way in

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ssleif](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssleif/gifts).



* * *

Suspended in mid-air in the middle of the room as he listened to the latest minutes of the Shao Industries boardroom conference, “Ugh! So many good ideas ruined by a lone act of sabotage,” muttering, even knowing how often he and his friends had used the same strategy to attain their goals.

“We can fix them!” Parker said (still on the ceiling and only half-dressed) to Hardison’s gloom.

“Should we?” Eliot asked, just as dressed, though on the bed. “Most jobs, our worst case scenario is we bankrupt a country. Here, worst case’s Earth gets eaten.”

“And the difference is?”

“Absolutely squat,” _zilch, nothing, nada, sefir._

The question asked wasn’t about the top tiers of governments or businesses, nor was that how the answer regarded things. Question and answer were for the little guys, the regular normal people the team had always focused their assistance toward.

“Lets do it.”

“All in,” Hardison agreed.

”Then we finish this,” Parker said.

”So I can get down?”

”Eeah...”

Yeah, not sure,” Eliot teased. “Get ya later?”

”Next time, we’re doin’ my idea of beadwork.”

”Ooh!” Parker said.

”Fine,” Eliot said, giving a quick tug to untie the cord that was keeping Harrison off the bed.

* * *

SHATTERDOME:

“Thank you for replying to my invitation, Dr. Capaldi.”

“Oh it is I who should be thanking you, Dr. Geiszler,” Hardison said. “Your calculatory analysis is – may I call it an operatic masterstroke?”

“You may if you must. Really, it was a few thoughts I threw together.”

“Modesty maketh the man, as my Nanna always said, and you stand before me as living proof.”

"You are one of the few who hold that opinion," Newt said. "Wait a few hours, and you'll be disillusioned."

"And now actively casting shade on yourself? Modest-er and modest-er, man."

* * *

“Not sure what you’re aiming to do out here, Dr. McCoy,” Ranger Lambert said.

“I have a few ideas,” Parker replied.

“As much as we appreciate the offer, I’m not sure what a Titan expert can tell us about Kaiju.”

Who’d win. “Godzilla may be napping, but the others aren’t.”

“And you’re going to bring some over?” Jules asked, stopping by.

“Soon. Groundwork first,” with a frown. _Can’t bluff a Titan – could fake having one in transport, bluff long enough to do stuff and be gone_.

“Paperwork?” sympathetic.

Nodding, “Up the flagpole and wait for something to come down.”

"Anything you can offer, we'll gladly accept," Nate Lambert said.

"Can we start with exercises? I didn't get to stretch my legs on the flight over."

* * *

The tresspasser was still in her Shatterdome office when she arrived there after several more hours of comparing design and code with that brilliant Namani girl.

"What is this??” Shao demanded as her personal security took hold of the intruder.

“Who, me?” Eliot asked, allowing himself to be cuffed and grabbed by the arms.

“Yes, you.”

“I’m just taking a look ‘round, ma’am.”

“Why?” she asks.

“Curious. And I’m respectful.”

_Respectful? You break into my office and call yourself respectful?_

“Also, I was wonderin’ who left that book on your desk.”

Shao turned her head to see the book – a folder, more like – and turned back in time to see the last member of her security drop like a stunned fly.

And Eliot was still standing there. _Am I getting slow, or is she not as curious as we’d planned for?_ “Ma’am,” he said, polite as ever.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” she demanded.

“I’m just here to provide leverage,” he said, knowing it was more likely to be horribly misinterpreted if he’d paused in mid-statement like Ford used to do.

“For who?”

 _Normally, that would be telling. But what the hell_ – “You,” and he left, quiet as could be.

* * *

“What was in the folder?” Newt asked.

“Analysis,” Liwen said, placing her thumb against his cheek. “Theoretical models of how to combine drift compatibility with drones to safeguard against hacking while simultaneously making Jaegers harder for Kaiju to unman.

While he’d usually say ‘dear, we are in public’ to which she would reply ‘which is why I’m _*only*_ doing this’, Newt felt that _right now, after that display of…aggressionless violence,_ “Would you l… Do you require a hug?”

She gazed at him, her feelings in no doubt whatsoever. “I appreciate that. I believe I will need it more after the meeting we have in five minutes.”

“Then we had best begin making our way there,” Newt said. “After you, my lady.”

Smiling at him, and striding alongside him, their elbows in constant contact, “I particularly found it interesting how Crimson Typhoon’s three-man set-up was used as an example. Even with my contacts, it had been difficult to study that Jaeger.” _Which means that mystery man today has a higher security clearance than I did when I was making Shao Industries the powerhouse it is today._

* * *

Eliot watched the ‘You tell them that we’re coming for them!’ video again. And again. And –

“There was a time,” Hardison said “when watching something too much would ruin the recording.”

“Back when Ford was a kid.”

Both men enjoyed a chuckle. “Finding anything useful?”

“Nothing we didn’t know yesterday. You?”

“Shao’s introducing new safeguards to keep out hackers, but it won’t keep out a determined effort by yours truly…which means the Precursors might still get in.” _Kaos would love all the systems and toys available these days._

“Maybe,” Eliot muttered.

“Well thanks man,” Hardison grinned, gladly accepting. “Wait, that’s a bad thing, ain’t it?”

“Maybe. Problem is, the Precursors’ve been barely trying. I’ve wargamed the wars more than you know, looked at it from every angle…and just using what we know, I’ve been able to wipe out humanity three times over.”

“Just with the Kaiji they got hit with?”

Eliot nodded. “Even when I restricted it to the ones who made landfall, cut out the ones who perished partway into our world…and not even using the recent attackers.”

“Damn. And Pentecost wants _*in*?”_

“Yep.”

* * *

"First to the top wins?" Parker asked, trying not to grin too wickedly at the sheer height of this, the tallest of the Jaegers.

"You sure you're up for this?" Amara asked.

"We'd not want you getting hurt," Victoria agreed.

"Pft," Parker said. "I'll make it fair - you can use climbing and rapelling gear."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You get hurt, its on us," Amara said.

Parker's shoulders drooped. "Do I have to sign another waiver? Or are you just trying to back out of having fun?"

Amara chuckled. "You talk a big game, but bigger isn't always better."

Viktoria rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Magnificent," Hardison said, looking at the scenarios being tackled by Newt's computer.

"Naturally," Newt said before Liwen could say something blush-inducing _as we've agreed, flattery and verbage do not qualify as PDA._

"Although..."

"Although?" Shao repeated. _That would imply either of us missed something. Speak carefully._

"Yes," Hardison said. "Although the simulation does not appear to take into account local atmospheres - atmospheric pressures on the sea floor, yes - but not the air the Jaegers would be moving through in the Anteverse."

 _Ah. That detail._ "Given the durability of the Jaegers, their mobility is severely unlikely to be impeded by whatever air quality exists there."

"As well," Newt added, "even if the Anteverse's air is water or ammonia," _not entirely unlikely, given how the Kaijus' parasites survive here if submerged in ammonia - a lesson from Hannibal Chao,_ "the Jaegers are leakproof."

'Unless damaged in battle' was the unspoken addendum between the three of them.

"Then you'd be using drones only? Otherwise you're basically sending armored whales: they need to come back here to breathe."

"One last wrinkle to iron out," Newt said.

"Its being worked on as we speak," Liwen said.

"I am so happy to hear that," Hardison said.

* * *

“Do they know we’ve been watching them?”

“Given the blonde waves to the camera every so often, I’d say so,” Jake said. “Notice how they’re moving?”

Nate Lambert nodded. “In perfect harmony.”

“Not simpatico.”

“Also true.”

“But if they know we’re watching them…” Jake started to say.

“They’re watching us,” the two Rangers said as one.

“And where is that other guy?” Nate asked, checking the cameras until he followed a hunch: if the blonde was _there_ , and her friend was _there_ , then those two systems go to - “Holding cells. Highest security. Perfect harmony indeed.”

“Gottleib 's?"

Nod. “He’s about to enter the cell. Think we should let him in?”

“Why not? Let them think we didn’t notice, and see what more we can learn from another interview with the rat.”

Nate nodded and didn’t flick the Re-Lock switch.

* * *

“You’re new,” Hermann commented as Eliot stepped inside.

“Not as new as you’d think,” Eliot said. “You comfy?”

“You care?”

“Just making small talk. You allergic to it?”

“Lets call it wariness.”

“Sure,” Eliot said. “And while we’re at it, I just want to reassure you that I have every confidence you’ve been lying since you were arrested, if not since you were initially infested.”

 **“A choice word choice,”** the Precursor said through Hermann.

“Thankee kindly. Likewise, I don’t expect you to tell me a lick of honest stuff while I’m here.”

 **“Then…why _are_ you here?”** curiosity drawing the words from its mind.

“Just to talk. Problem?” Eliot asked.

“None,” Hermann said. “No problem.”

“Good. So, stupid, busy, or lazy?”

Something practically leaped across his face, and Eliot knew it was entirely human. “What?” Hermann asked.

“C’mon, man, you’ve been yacking for years about how the Precursors have an assembly line making Kaiju. Even a basic knowledge of industry and technology tells me that if there’s _one_ assembly line in good working order, there have to be others – some older, some not working * _as*_ good, some being fine-tuned for improved versions later…”

“So?”

“So why aren’t they even using one assembly line properly? Does the all-seeing eye of Mordor only let you take the Kaiju out to drive on Sundays?”

 **“DISRESPECTFUL!”** the Precursor spat at Eliot.

“I haven’t even warmed up,” Eliot grinned. “And you haven’t answered.”

“Kind of hard to answer when you’re being rude,” Hermann said.

“My bad. Go ahead.”

Herman glared as the Precursor cursed in his head.

“While we’re waiting, I got a question.”

“Go ahead,” Hermann said in kind.

“These other worlds you mentioned. Are they abandoned, or do they stay in use after you find a new place to colonize?”

“That, would be telling.”

“True, true. Oh, and before I forget,” since I estimate our time is almost up, “Godzilla says hi.”

The Precursor jerked the body up so fast Hermann’s wrists nearly skinned themselves on the restraints. **“No!”**

“Yes.”

**“You lie!”**

“Most days. Not ‘bout this.”

**“You cannot have spoken with The Inferno One.”**

“Can and have,” Eliot said. “He says he’s looking forward to kicking your collective butt again. Later,” and Eliot exited the room, even as the Precursor and Hermann both shouted at him to come back, to clarify what he’d just told them, to **_please_** return.

* * *

“Wow,” Jake said to Eliot after another security door between them and their captive Precursor shut. “Just, wow.”

“I try,” Eliot said. “You enjoyed it that much?”

“You got them both talking more than they normally do, so, yeah.”

“I focus on the little details. Guys like you tend to be busy, so I’m just helping out.”

 _And now, like my father and my sister, I am The Man_. “Much appreciated. Got any other tidbits?”

“Maybe ask if the rest of the hivemind or the giant eye will be pissed at him for acting without permission.”

“You’re saying the Rift is as much a barrier to their hivemind as it is to drifting minds?”

Eliot shrugged. “It’s a thought, a line of inquiry to pursue.”

Jake nodded, seeing where this was going. “And we learn something either way, from their reaction.”

Eliot nodded. “Now, am I under arrest?”

“You _wanna be_ under arrest?”

“I just wanna know where I stand. Breaking and entering, maybe, or espionage, or unauthorized covert action, or…?”

“Way I see it, you and your friends were assisting us with our inquiries and efforts. No harm no foul.”

* * *

* * *

ONE HOUR LATER:

“No way,” Nate said, looking around the now-empty quarters their three guests occupied during their stay.

“We had cameras on every one of them,” Jules said. “How did they just vanish?”

“Something tells me,” Jake said, picking an unopened case of OREOS off the bed, “that’s their M.O.”

* * *


End file.
